Brown County police chiefs offer condolences to Dallas officers

by Joshua Peguero

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BROWN COUNTY, Texas - As the city of Dallas continues to heal from Thursday's deadly sniper attack that killed five police officers, law enforcement in Brown County expressed compassion and confusion on Friday.

Brownwood and Early police chiefs are trained in responding to active shooter situations.

Brownwood Police Chief Terry Nichols heard late Thursday night of the situation in Dallas as it was unfolding.

"It tears at the very basic fabric of society, when people are willing to gun down men and women simply for wearing their uniform," Nichols said.

Early Police Chief David Mercer followed the breaking news into Friday morning.

"My first thought is somewhat of anger because of the way things turned out," Mercer said.

Mercer has held two free active shooter response classes in the last four months to prepare the public for such an incident.

"The first thing [officers] are going to do is take cover and locate the position of the sniper," he said.

Before taking the Brownwood job, Nichols served on the Hays County SWAT team for several years. He was also a founding member of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program, according to a press release sent shortly after his hiring.

"Sniper situations are incredibly difficult," Nichols said. "Someone has a high ground on you. The first thing we want to do is get ourselves, and civilians, out of the kill zone."

The two police chiefs said people in the community have reached out and offered their support in the wake of this deadly attack on law enforcement.

"We've had more than the normal amount of people come to us, and tell us, they're going to be thinking about us," Mercer said.